Annexation continues to cause anxiety among residents near St. James. After a weekend of protests, the Brunswick County property owners are not willing to become a part of another jurisdiction without having a say.
When you think of the town of St. James, you most likely think about the gated community inside the town. It’s home to more than 3,000 residents. The town hall is inside the gates, but now town leaders want to annex parcels of land outside the gates next to the plantation and along Highway 211.
"If the towns want to grow, and have to grow, I think it's a way to do it that is presently legal,” said Jim Gear, a St. James Plantation resident.
This weekend, residents and business owners rallied outside a local business, expressing their distaste for involuntary annexation.
The Midway Trading Post on highway 211 stands to be annexed by the neighboring town. If the plan goes through, the business would be subject to town zoning laws as well as taxes.
"We in America don't believe that you take our rights without our vote. Not for golf, not for shopping centers, we vote in America, when it comes to taxation and our future,” said Curtis Wright of the Big Talker FM.
The land in question is along Highway 211, and some of it directly butts St. James Plantation's property. Property owners within the plantation gates say sometimes annexation is just a part of life.

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